MANCHESTER UNITED
On Saturday a fitting farewell was given to one of Soccer's greatest players. Belfast's iconic son saw 32,000 people gather in the capital of Northern Ireland for his funeral after his death due to organ failure and a lifelong battle with alcoholism.
Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy all scored to humbe Pompey 3-0. Scholes scored his first in a long time from his head to open the scoring. The only problem Manchester have now is other teams doing well and taking points from championship rivals Chelsea who are still 10 points in front. Middlesbrough almost got it right but still gave Chelsea all 3 points. Liverpool are now only 2 points behind in third place so the Red Devils cannot afford to slip up at all.
It was a difficult week for Manchester United as their long-serving captain left, but they more than compensated with a 1-3 win away at The Valley. To top it all the man who Man Utd are probably grooming to replace Roy Keane opened the scoring to put United 1-0 ahead in the 37th minute.
Relations between Fergie and Keane have been said to be bad after Roy's outburst at some of his colleagues for their heavy loss at Middlesbrough a couple weeks ago. Having been at the club for more than 12 years almost all true fans of Man Utd have a place in their hearts for the fiery Irishman and his loss will make many sad.
Here's to you Keano, a great part of a great team. 
The Red Devils put on quite a display with Ruud back to scoring form with 2 goals, one of which is defintely the goal of the weekend. The one I refer to was after Wayne Rooney ran through the midfield skipping over tackles and then non-chalantly toed his cross to Van Nistelrooy. Ruud controlled with his chest around the 6 yard line with his back to goal, and a defender right on his shoulder, before spinning round and whipping in a volley to the far post. A great run by Rooney to set it up and then an even better finish by the Dutchman.
The first goal came from Alan Smith after a dangerous run by Cristiano Ronaldo allowed Rooney to cross, Darren Fletcher received but slipped in the penalty box. He regained his feet and sent the ball to Alan Smith who connected first time to send the ball racing past Andersen, the Charlton keeper.
Date - 06/11/2005 - Man Utd. pulled off one of their best victories in recent time against the run of form to win 1-0 against Chelsea at home. The most unlikely of suspects scored with a very good header from a dangerous cross by Cristiano Ronaldo. A very high-pitched game with Manchester at times in the first half all over Chelsea like a bad rash. In the second half it was Chelsea who took the game by the throat and sent wave after wave of attacks at Man who just would not give up. Alan Smith was my pick of the players as he held nothing back, as usual.
Ruud Van Nistelrooy seemed out of touch and I don't think the captain's arm band does his game any good. The game was end-to-end stuff right until the final whistle was blown as neither team gave up at any stage. Van Der Sar pulled off a couple good saves to earn his keep.
The Italian press have linked current Juventus coach Fabio Capello with a move to Man United to replace Sir Alex. Apparently the press have picked up on the Glazers chasing after Capello although the rumours doing the rounds at the moment are that Sir Alex will be retiring at the end of this season and not that the Glazers will be forcing him into retirement. With the teams performances of late, including the losses to Middlesbrough and Lille, not too many people would be surprised if Sir Alex Ferguson was sacked. Capello's reaction to the possibility; "I'm flattered to be among those who might be interviewed if Sir Alex Ferguson leaves Manchester United, although I don't think he will do it. Anyway, I have a contract with Juve, but being mentioned for this possibility flatters me." Capello's contract with Juventus is until 2007.
Manchester United have continued on their bad form for the season and look set to be behind Chelsea for the rest of it, by some distance. Yesterday Man United drew, again, in a game where they showed their inability to capitalise on goal scoring opportunities. With 2 penalty claims for Tottenham being waved away by referee Uriah Rennie the scoreline could have been completely different. There was an ugly periond in the second half when things became abit rough with Wayne Rooney, Edgar Davids, Jermaine Jenas and Paul Stalteri all being booked in quick succession.Manchester are in 5th place onthe log at the moment, behind Wigan Athletic! A goal difference of only 7 which does not even begin to compare to current leaders Chelsea who are on a goal difference of 20 and 9 points ahead. A poor start to the season seems to be an understatement.
Date - 18/09/2005 - Arch rivals Liverpool and Manchester United played out to a goal-less draw today at Anfield. Both teams would not have wanted this as the gap to Chelsea widens so early in the season. With Manchester looking more and more likely not to score with 2 premiership matches in a row ending goal-less draw. United are now 7 points adrift of Chelsea with a lot of the season left.
To make matters worse Roy Keane picked up an injury which will keep him out for 2 months - a broken 3rd metatarsal bone in his foot after a tackle by Luis Garcia.
Date - 13/08/2005 - Off to a good start - that's what most Man Utd fans will be thinking. The Red Devils kicked off their premiership season with an away win at Goodison Park against Everton. Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney scored either side of half time.
Ruud came close twice in the first 15 minutes of the match but scored about 3 minutes from half time off a cross from John O' Shea. Van Der Sar made a magnificent save in tipping over a close-range effort off the head of Tim Cahill around the half-hour mark.
Rooney's goal came from a loose pass, inside the first minute of the second half, by Everton defender Joseph Yobo which Wayne pounced on and calmly finished. Both the goal and celebrations have not won him over any fans at Goddison Park but took the wind our of the Everton players who hardly attacked after this.
